Georgia House Study Committee on Gaming Offers No Recommendations on Sports Betting, Casino Gaming Legalization

• A final report issued by a Georgia House Study Committee offered no recommendations on the legalization of sports betting or iGaming in the state
• The final report only included the background of the committee and summations of its meetings
• The House Study Committee met four times since its first meeting in late July

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After four meetings that included more than 12 hours of testimony from sports betting industry leaders, casino leaders, iGaming representatives, and professionals opposed to legalized gambling, a Georgia House Study Committee on Gaming has submitted a final report to the House of Representatives.

However, the Georgia House Study Committee on Gaming offered no recommendations or opinions for or against the legalization of Georgia sports betting, casino gambling, horse racing, lottery, or any other form of regulated gaming in the state in its final nine-page report.

Instead, the committee simply provided a background of its formation and a brief summation of each of its four meetings, leaving its opinion on the legalization of Georgia gaming a mystery.

Four Meetings and Hours of Testimony

The House Study Committee on Gaming in the State of Georgia met for the first time on Monday, July 28, kicking off discussions to “undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems” of legalized gambling.

The six-member committee was formed after Georgia legislators failed to approve a sports betting or gambling bill in the 2025 legislative session. Instead, they approved HR 753, a bill to create the House Study Committee on Gaming in the State of Georgia to evaluate the pros and cons of expanding gaming in the state.

Chaired by Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-119) – who has filed several sports betting bills over the past several years – many hoped the committee would offer a final recommendation or opinion on the legalization of Georgia sports betting or casino gaming.

Instead, the final report mainly focused on providing links to testimony shared by gaming representatives and those in opposition who spoke during each of the four meetings.

It also provided a scope of the committee, which said the following:

During the 2025 Session, the Georgia House of Representatives passed HR 753, which created House Study Committee on Gaming in the State of Georgia to study the pros and cons of expanding gaming within the state. In particular, the committee was tasked with reviewing: 1) how gaming would contribute to the Georgia economy regarding economic development and quality of jobs while weighed against social and societal ills; 2) whether legalization of gaming would increase tax revenues and aid the budget; 3) whether Georgians are traveling out of state game currently; and 4) whether horse racing would expand horse breeding, raising, and training within the state. The committee heard approximately 12 hours of testimony across four meetings held in, respectively, Watkinsville, Atlanta, Savannah, and Atlanta. Members of the committee and public were further informed through a total of 36 presentations throughout the committee meetings from 35 total presenters.

The final report also included a brief summation of 2025 sports betting and lottery legislation efforts, none of which came close to being approved.

So where in the world does this leave Georgia’s legalized gaming hopes for 2026 and beyond?

Sports Betting and Casino Regulation Face High Hurdles

With no final recommendation from the study committee, it seems unlikely that Georgia lawmakers will seriously consider any gaming legalization bills in 2026.

Add in the fact that Rep. Wiedower, perhaps the state’s biggest sports betting proponent over the last several years, recently resigned from the House to focus on a career in real estate, and it just further makes the situation more difficult.

Georgia has discussed legalization for the last several years, but without its main driver in Wiedower and no official recommendation from the recent study committee, it is unlikely to get anything done in the upcoming legislative session.

One glimmer of hope? A Georgia Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State For Tourism recently published its final report on Dec. 1, which included a recommendation to legalize Georgia sports betting. It noted that Georgia sports betting revenue could be used to lure major events to the state, such as the Super Bowl or the NCAA Final Four, in the same manner North Carolina uses its sports betting revenues.

However, outside of a one sentence recommendation to legalize sports betting in the report, it did not offer much more in terms of what sports betting should look like or how it should be legalized in the state.